22 July, 2010Strike action continues after Indesit group announced closure of two factories and relocation of production to another area in Italy, failing to properly consult workers' representatives for all possible alternatives.
ITALY: Workers at the Indesit Group across Italy are taking strike action on July 23, demanding the company reconsider plant closures and properly negotiate with unions, IMF affiliates FIOM-CGIL, FIM-CISL and UILM-UIL.
On June 9 the Indesit company board announced its decision to close two of its Italian factories at Brembate, Bergamo and Refrontolo, Treviso and relocate the production to Caserta and Fabriano with a three year investment plan worth 120 million Euros. The decision will dramatically impact on 500 workers and their families in Bergamo and Treviso.
Earlier the company formerly known as Merloni Elettrodomestici S.p.A, committed "to practice a socially correct behaviour and to comply with international social standards" when it signed an International Framework Agreement in 2001 with the IMF and its Italian affiliates. The full text of the agreement is available on the IMF website here.
In a bid to influence the company's decision, 430 workers from Brembate plant supported by the IMF Italian affiliates FIOM-CGIL, FIM-CISL and UILM-UIL organized a strike and a permanent sit-in on June 11. Despite another national-wide four hour strike within Indesit on June 17 the company confirmed its decision to close two plants at the annual coordination meeting with national trade unions in Ancona.
Despite further discussions with the company on June 28 and July 9 in Rome, Indesit is still refusing to look for possible alternatives at the sites. FIOM-CGIL, FIM-CISL and UILM-UIL have called for the joint strike action in protest of the plant closures and the company's inaction on protecting jobs.